The Dullness of Dole
by The DG Forum
Summary: Unemployed and desperate for a job Ginny doesn't expect much from the course she's sent on by the JobCentre...broomstick chases and maid outfits certainly never crossed her mind.
1. Chapter 1

This story was written for **Lys (Rosaly Zeclack)** in _**The DG Forum Fic Exchange - Winter 2015**_ by a member of the forum. For more details, please visit our page!

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><p>AN: (written by the author's beta) The Author would like to formally apologise for being mostly worthless and making the beta edit this just hours before the deadline. The Author is a horrid little beast, in spite of being a great writer. Please direct your shaming words towards The Author in your review. Thank you.

CHAPTER ONE

Here's the problem with the Wizarding World economy: it's tiny. The Wizarding World isn't big and every year at least fifty students graduate from Hogwarts and go looking for jobs; couple that with extremely long life spans and you've got a situation where there are too many people and not enough work to go around. Well, you could always get a job at the Ministry, I suppose, but the work is mindless and the pay is as bad as it gets. And, to be honest, I'm better than that – I'm too different to spend my life in cubicle drudgery.

"I'm sorry Ms Weasley, you're just too similar to all the other graduates out there." Doris looked up at me over her glasses and gave me a once over. "You have standard grades, with a strength in charms I see, and you've been commended on your duelling but, overall, you don't have any skills that stand out."

Doris's office was as bland as the woman herself; beige walls, blue carpet, and cheap wooden furniture. The only bit of individualism was a potted plant and a picture of a coral reef. I changed my mind about the Ministry…working in the Jobcentre would be worse. I notice Doris waiting for my response, I had drifted off while she was telling me how much help she couldn't be.

"I'm a brilliant dualist, excellent flier, and my DADA work was ranked in top of my class – how am I not standing out?" Because seriously, I don't mean to brag but I'm a strong witch and yes, fine, my grades aren't like Hermione's, but I've got my strong points.

Doris looked flustered at the outburst and shuffled the paperwork before replying. She took her time, choose her words carefully. "The problem with your class and the ones that have come before it is that your educations were disrupted and tainted with The War." The War – notice that capitalisation? No one refers to it as anything but 'The War'. "Your strengths were useful then-"

"Necessary," I cut her off sharply. I've flustered Doris again and I'd feel bad but somehow I can't. There's something about her apparent inefficiency that's rubbing me the wrong way.

She clears her throat and the feeling of discomfort is palpable. "The only place your skill set would suit would be with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement but as you've made clear already you do not wish to go down that path." Doris looked tired and I could understand why; if I would just get over whatever it was she could send me to the DMLE and tick me off as a successful job seeker and let her get on with the next poor unemployed graduate.

"All in all, Ms Weasley, you don't want to work where you'd best fit, you don't want a '_boring office job' _but you don't really know what you would like to do. The only option left for you for is our third party compulsory volunteer program designed to give you work experience in a number of different professions."

I open my mouth to argue with her but, finally discovering a backbone, Doris shuts me down.

"If you refuse to interview for any of the positions we've discussed today and refuse the third party compulsory volunteer program then I'll have no choice but to suspend your benefits until you begin to cooperate with me." Flustered Doris was gone this Doris knew that she had me, there was no way I was going to lose that money, having it was the only thing stopping me from having to move back in with my parents.

I can't believe I had reached this stage though. Following Voldemort's defeat, the Ministry was surprisingly generous with its one off 'thank you' gifts to those of us who had a 'prominent role in the defeat or in the defence against Voldemort', and I had saved mine until after graduation to use as my deposit on my first flat. It was a gorgeous place; a spacious double bedroom, hardwood floors, and a kitchen – though rarely used – that never failed to make me wish I knew how to cook.

Bloody expensive though and after four months of unfruitful job searching I was forced to give it up and find somewhere cheaper. I now share a four bedroomed flat with faded carpets, mould in the _one_ bathroom we share, and a kitchen that makes me glad I don't know how to cook. Mum and Dad were fine with flat one, they understood the appeal . . . flat two? Not so much.

So no, I was not losing the one bit of independence I still had left . . . and Doris knew it.

"Fine," I said sighing and took the leaflet she passed my way. "ALCOR?"

"The organisation is called AL Corporation, they're known as ALCOR for short. You'll attend five seminars a week and will have ten hours of placement time. I don't know the exact details as they mix it up every season but they'll send you a welcome pack with everything you'll need." Ignoring me now, Doris started filling in paperwork, having me sign a few forms before sending me on my way. Not without a final warning though, of course. "Really, Ms Weasley, this is your last shot, if you don't know what you want to do after this you will be forced to take the first job that we find you; you can't wait for your dream job – life doesn't work like that – trust me."

Looking again at Doris's beige office, and the woman herself, I could quite easily see what would happen to me if I took her advice; a boring office job that would slowly drain me of all desire. "Of course, Doris, I understand."

I understood, but never said I would do it.

XxX

After leaving the Jobcentre I wandered Diagon Alley for a bit, window shopping. Growing up I got used to window shopping, seeing stuff I wanted but couldn't have. I assumed things would be different when I grew up, but surprise! they weren't. Eventually I started on the familiar route back home, the quality of the shops diminishing as I drew closer. It wasn't that bad, just lots of '3 for 1 Galleon' shops selling almost expired food and cheap knockoffs probably made using elf labour. Hermione refused to shop at those sorts of places, of course, because the elves only earned minimum wage; I didn't mention that I frequented them often . . . when you get to the stage where you can only afford beans on toast for dinner the quality of the beans didn't really matter much.

I really missed meat. Even I wouldn't chance the meat from Bill's Odds-N-Bobs, no matter how desperate I was for some bacon.

At least I could go to Mum's for Sunday dinner where there would be multiple helpings and leftovers to take home. She probably knew that I wasn't doing so well but after the whole blow-up over Harry thing she wasn't going to push. I guess she finally realised how stubborn her children are.

I reached the building's entrance and didn't bother pulling out a key to unlock it, a hard push would do the same, and then climbed the stairs to the second floor. I guess that's the one redeeming feature: we don't live on the tenth floor.

As I reached the front door I could hear Maria and Marie arguing. Again. I caught snatches of the conversation, enough to realise they were arguing about Paul. Again.

Paul was our other housemate, Dan's, best friend and would come by almost every night to hang out with Dan. It came as a complete surprise to me then to discover both girls quite fancied him. Apparently with bright blue eyes, floppy blond hair, and a physique that didn't hide his weekly rugby practice, Dan was quite hot. Apparently. Completely unsurprisingly. As far as I was aware Dan was either oblivious to their advances or just seriously not interested and too polite to say.

I braced myself before pushing the door open and walked towards my room as quietly as possible, not willing to be dragged into the fray.

"Ginny!"

Of course with my luck that was a near impossibility.

"Ginny, wait up! Come out here." Partly in the door but still visible I weighed up my options. Ignoring the request and going straight into the room would make them angry with me for the next week but that mostly involved the silent treatment so kind of a plus. On the other hand I'd still hear all their shouting and Marie offered to hoover my room next time she did hers, an offer most likely withdrawn if I were in her bad books. Difficult.

In the end the desire to not deal with our antique and monstrous hoover won out and I shuffled into the living room.

"Hey guys, what's up?" It was a dangerous tactic going straight for the problem, more likely to lead to another heating up but I was tired and just wanted a nice peaceful bath before Paul got home and dominated the bathroom with his going out routine.

It seemed I had caught them at a lull as they didn't immediately spring into the fight but just stood there glaring at each other. I looked around the room for clues but nothing looked out of place. Two sagging sofas covered in the brightly coloured cushions to spruce them up, the wooden coffee table with half a leg missing and covered in various magazines covering health and beauty to sports, lamps dotted around the place for 'mood lighting' and because turning on the main light knocked the electric out for the rest of the flat . . . no, everything look normal, where it ought to be- oh. Crap.

Across the mantelpiece Marie had strung a row of fairy lights and on the top Maria had added a spread of her figurine collection, one of which was broken. Noticing Marie's slightly guilty look it was quite easy to realise this wasn't about Dan but the figurine, something Maria cared about a great deal more.

"I can't live here, Ginny, with her, anymore! Look what she did! These are my Mum's!" Maria looked truly upset and it was obvious she had been crying by the mascara tear tracks that ran down her cheeks leaving lines in her foundation. Marie didn't look that much better and it wasn't as if she'd break the figurine on purpose. She could be a bitch but she was always reasonable with it.

Regardless the situation was ridiculous. I fished my wand out of my bag and pointing it at the figurine intoned: "_Reparo_." The arm leaped off the mantelpiece where it had fallen and seamlessly reattached itself leaving the two girls staring in disbelief.

"We are _idiots_," Maria complained and I couldn't not agree. As soon as anything went slightly haywire Maria and Marie had a tendency to argue, whine, or cry before remembering they could use magic. At first I had found it humorous but now it was starting to get frustrating. Even though they had spent seven years at Hogwarts, the slightest ruffle would seemingly push that out the window and they'd act like Muggles. A problem with being Muggleborn I suppose.

With the crisis sorted I left the room with a hastily thrown over the shoulder good night and headed into my room. There wasn't anything waiting for me but my borrowed library book which I was keen to finish and return by tomorrow, otherwise the overdue fines would start kicking in.

The heating wasn't on as it was stupidly expensive so we used it sparingly, I pulled on another jumper and climbed in under the sheets for warmth, which made turning the pages difficult, but it was better than freezing.

Engrossed in the book, I didn't hear Maria and Marie make up or Dan come home. It was only after I finished the last page did I realise the time and discover Dan would most certainly be home and in the bathroom prepping for his evening; followed by Marie and then Maria. By the time they were done and gone the bathroom would be a mess and humid from the steam of three long showers. A relaxing bath was out then.

I considered going out with them but a quick check in my purse made my options go out tonight or eat for the week; food won out.

I headed into the kitchen to make a sandwich before settling down on the sofa to watch some TV . . . only to be interrupted by the girls and some of their friends who needed the room to get ready together, so forced out of the living room and back to my room I was left sitting on my bed eating a sandwich with no plans and nothing to do.

Trying to stave off boredom I cast my eyes around the room looking for something, _anything_, to do but pulled up empty. All my books had been read multiple times and the ones from the library had all been read too recently to make a reread enjoyable. I was just about to throw myself out of the window when I caught sight of the leaflet Doris had given me earlier. I grabbed it out of my bag and was desperate enough to start reading it but was interrupted by Paul knocking on the door.

"Delivery, Ginny," his deep voice shouted before he wandered back to his room, his heavy footsteps audible on the wooden flooring of the hallway.

Surprised and a little excited I pulled open the door and picked up the package with hope. Maybe Mum had sent her care package early? Kicking the door shut I retreated with the package so no one would catch a whiff of the treats and want – demand – some.

I ripped open the package hopeful but ultimately disappointed. Honestly, with my luck you'd think I was used to bitter let downs but I still hoped. Which was probably why I was still out there trying to find a job and make the whole independence work instead of returning home.

The contents of the box spilled out in front of me and as I looked down at them and then around my room with its single bed, flat pack wardrobe, and threadbare carpet I realised that hope was diminishing every day and despite my disinterest I had no choice but to take part in the ALCOR programme with the chance to find a job.

If ALCOR didn't work out I'd return to Doris the next day and take any job she could get me. Boring beige may be my immediate future but even that was looking better than this present. I couldn't live like this anymore.

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><p><span><strong>Lys's Prompt (1)<strong>

**Basic Premise: **Ginny is jobless and her only hope is to work under Draco Malfoy.

**Must haves: **Angst, humour, love-hatred relationship, arrogant and cocky Draco, use of this quote (in any form as long as the meaning is similar): "A lot of people don't like themselves and I happen to be totally in love with myself", "There is that awful moment when you realise you're falling in love," and "It's terrible to lose someone we love, but it's even worse to lose ourselves while loving them."

**No-no's: **Sappy romance, lovesick or romantic Draco.

**Rating range: **T and above

**Bonus points: **Submissive but back-talking Ginny, Draco with fashionable Muggle suits, use of this song (Whistle – Flo Rida) _and _(including) this song (One More Night – Maroon 5) in any form.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

"I'm sorry, _what_?" I stared at Palmer with disbelief and most likely a gormless expression on my face.

As standard Palmer looked back at me with a bored look on his face before studying the papers in front of him again. "Your aptitude tests, physicals, and skill gauges all indicate a vast potential for success in our line of work. Slight concerns have been raised over your quick temper and tongue and some of the instructors have acknowledged a problem with your inability to be quiet but other than that you seem to me to be an adequate candidate for further training and employment with our company."

"I'm going to be a spy?!"

This is definitely not how this was all supposed to go.

XxX

_Staring down at the overwhelming amount of paper in front of me I wondered what I was getting myself into. This seemed like far too much work for something that would end up telling me the only thing I was good for was DMLE if I refused office work. _

_I shuffled through the pile before coming up with the introductory letter. _

Dear Ms G. Weasley,

We are excited to hear that you will be joining us for the next three months as part of your desire to further your career and prospects. As you are aware you are scheduled to attend five seminars a week at our offices in Warwickshire; this coming week you appointment times are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from ten o'clock am to seven o'clock pm; all equipment and food will be provided. Please attire yourself simply, comfortably, and in a manner suiting the possibility of exercise or manual labour.

Enclosed is a Portkey which will activate five minutes before your scheduled day commences, this will also be the manner in which you will return to your home.

Also enclosed is a spread of informational guides that will explain some of the features of our programme and other suitable alternatives for any future needs.

We look forward to your joining us and hope that you are able to get the most out of our programme.

With regards,

D. Reeves

XxX

_The first day started off bad. As you most likely expected. Although my alarm clock went off it did so under a pile of laundry which Maria had been kind enough to wash and dump in my room before she left work at seven. After growing up in a house full of loud people I was well used to sleeping through small noises, like alarm clocks. So yes, I overslept. _

_Luckily I woke up a half nine when Mum called to make sure I was ready for my 'big day' and to wish me luck. Luck._

_I cut the call short and was thankful I didn't have to dress up. Jeans, shirt, and trainers with my hair tied up in a bun – nothing fancy and I was ready ten minutes later, so plenty of time for breakfast. _

_Which I couldn't have as the bread was now mouldy. _

_With not much else to do I flicked through one of the magazines that littered the coffee table while waiting for the Portkey to activate; it was just a simple silver bracelet that I wrapped around my ankle to keep off my arms – didn't want anything to get in the way of my manual labour. _

_Five minutes to ten as expected I was pulled from the living room._

XxX

_I landed in an office chair, convenient as I had been sat down, and didn't waste the opportunity to take in the room. I had been expecting another Doris-y affair but this was something else all together, I felt as if I had returned to Hogwarts. Half wall wooden panelling with a navy blue wallpaper lined the walls where they weren't covered by thick, heavy bookcases in turn lined with very old, very expensive looking, leather books with titles too small to be made out from where I was sitting in a chair that also seemed very old and very expensive looking. Dark wooden furniture was definitely flavour of the month and I stifled the desire for a curious look behind me to see if that was true for all of the room or just the chairs and desk in front of me. _

_The man sitting behind the desk watched me take all this in without a word and when he seemed satisfied that I would no longer be distracted by my surroundings did he speak. _

"_Ms Weasley?" His voice was ridiculously deep and made my heart race slightly – not with desire but something akin to feeling like a rabbit after discovering a whole host of hounds bearing down upon it. There was something in that voice that couldn't put you on edge though the man himself seemed very, well, as expected for this office. _

_He was slim, as far as I could tell while he was sat down, wearing a suit that probably cost a few years of rent money. His face was sharp and angular with a large forehead that emphasised his receding hair line. I took his face in but avoided the eyes, like his voice they had a disturbing quality about them. _

_I coughed to clear my throat, which had suddenly dried. "Yes sir." It felt appropriate to call him sir. He was old, dignified . . . slightly scary._

_He raised an eyebrow at my 'sir' but said nothing of it. "My name is Mr Palmer, I'm the Director of Operations here and I shall be overseeing your progress. There are a number of other candidates currently in the programme, two who are also starting today alongside yourself. You are expected to follow the directions of your instructors, complete tasks to your full ability, and take advantage of the benefits that we offer. As you leave my study follow the corridor and bear right; you'll find the common room and the others there. You may wait there until your instructors collect you."_

_Feeling very much dismissed I thanked his before running out of the room as gracefully as possible. I nodded hello to his secretary and followed the directions to the common room. _

_Despite being twenty I felt as if I were thirteen and now this place not only looked like Hogwarts it also made me feel as if it was. I was expected Professor Snape to jump out of a darkened nook any moment and tell me off for walking too loudly or too quickly. _

_But that's ridiculous I told myself, I shouldn't be thinking like this. Act like a kid and they'll treat you like one. Plus Snape was dead so he wouldn't be jumping out of anywhere anytime soon. _

_I felt a bit bad after thinking that, I also smiled a bit. I think I understand why Maria thinks I have a dark sense of humour. _

XxX

"_On my count! One, two, three, PULL!" Anders' voice bellowed out across the field as we strained to pull up the ropes. We were stood on the bridge overlooking the lake attempting the haul up ropes which would have been easier if weights weren't tied on to the end. I had lost track how many times I had questioned the sanity of this place, half the time our 'activities' seemingly had no correlation with the skills usually sought after by employers. After hours of cartography, languages, etiquette, physical activities, and learning how to balance books I was sure the only thing I was being prepared for was further unemployment. _

_Ander continued to yell encouragement, in the form of "Get them up by the bell or it's your lunch hour you'll be wasting," and I was continually surprised at how much volume could come from such a small man. I wouldn't say that to his face of course, what Anders' lacked in height he made up in bulk and I'd have no doubt he would be able to hoist all these ropes up at the same time. _

_I glanced to my left and met Jill's eyes. She was bright red, her brown locks had escaped from her tight bun and were plastered to her face by sweat. She grinned and confirmed the sneaking suspicion I had that I too didn't look my finest. _

XxX

"_You'll notice that the boundaries here, here, and here do not reflect the linguistic development patterns formulated by Larson in his work we studied last week. Draw you attention to this map however and you'll begin to understand why." Turning to explain yet another map the lecture didn't seem to notice the drowsy expressions on Tom's, Jill's, or my face. As we had quickly discovered this particular lecture – who had never introduced herself – was quite happy to chatter on without any input from us. _

"_Again, not understanding the relevance of this," Tom muttered, nevertheless scribbling down notes that may or may not be required for a test, none of us was sure whether or not we were learning would be tested or if this was all one big test to see if they could stay awake in dreadfully boring situations . . . such as office work, I suppose. _

_Like Tom I had been taking notes, though mine were mainly drawings of maps and diagrams with a few words here or there to explain what they actually meant. I wasn't too sure about the details but I got the gist of what was going on. I just really loved seeing the maps, some of which we hundreds of years old and works of art as well as knowledge._

_Jill refused to be drawn into conversation, though she did give a nod of agreement. _

"_Listen, I was thinking this Friday we could meet up at the Den on Diagon Alley? Grab some food, drinks, and just enjoy the first Friday night where we don't have to be up early on Saturday to come here." _

_I was surprised by Tom's suggestion, usually as he was the first one gone at the end of the day, not inclined to hang around afterwards and chat and so my initial reaction was to make up an excuse but, well, why not? Not having to feed myself meant that I actually had a bit more money than usual and I hadn't been out in ages. Before I could even think of stopping myself then I found myself agreeing to meet the two of them that Friday evening. _

XxX

"_Down in one Ginny!" Jill laughed and knocked back her shot with me shortly behind her. _

_Tom came up behind us grinning and plonked his pint down on the bar. "Time for dancing!" he declared grabbing our hands and dragging us away from the bar and on to the floor. _

_In a mix of flashing lights and strong music the exhausting week drained away from us and we stayed dancing until the lights starting brightening, the music grew quieter, and the place emptier. Shooed out by the sober staff we stumbled out the door and onto the cold streets of London. _

"_New bar?" Jill suggested, her eyes bright with drunkenness. _

_We looked around at the large number of people milling around. _

"_Chucking out time," Tom said, "every where's closing now."_

_I groaned, not wanting to head home already. Not really knowing which direction home was in. _

"_Ooo! I know a bar that's still open." Jill grinned. "I live just around the corner and my housemates are away, you guys are cordially invited to casa del Jill bar . . . does that work? I'm not good at Spanish," Jill mumbled as she wandered away with us tagging behind her._

XxX

"_Wait, which way is north again?" Jill looked up from the map and then up to the sun. "Rises in the east, sets in the west . . . I just have to wait for it to move a bit and then I'll know which way we ought to be heading in."_

_Jill was good at many things . . . navigation was not one of them. Without saying a word Tom stuck out his hand and Jill passed the map over. Turning ninety degrees to the right Tom corrected the map's position and studied it for a minute. _

"_This river here," he said, pointing to it on the map, "this will lead us straight to the town. We get there and we'll know exactly where we are." He traced the river with his finger away from the town. "This is roughly where we are," he paused, "we've been going in the wrong direction for a while but we've only got about three hours of hiking to reach the town so we'll be there by dusk." Looking up he caught sight of our faces and shrugged. "I told you I should lead the way."_

_He was right of course but after how insufferable he had been on our last navigation test Jill and I had decided to try and handle it ourselves and point out how straightforward navigation was. _

_I'm big enough to admit when I'm wrong. _

_To myself. _

_Ignoring Tom, Jill and I headed off in the direction he had indicated ignoring his chuckle as he made to join us. _

XxX

"_I just don't understand why they can't just throw in a second lunch," Tom complained as he slid down on to the bench next to me at lunch. "After all that crap in the morning, running backwards and forwards and climbing up tall buildings just to come back down and repeat it, I mean, all I'm saying is that we're burning enough energy to need an extra top up. Don't ya think?" Tom scooped the mash potatoes into his mouth creating a charming picture when some escaped. _

"_Mm-hm, Tom." Well used to the complaining by now Jill instead turned her attention to the book we'd been given by Ms. Hughnot, Palmer's secretary, after we had cleaned up following our session with Anders. _

"_It says here that our placement time is going to commence next week," she read aloud with a small furrow marring her forehead. "It's about time, I thought it was odd that they were saving all the placement time until the last week. We have what, about one hundred and ten hours to fulfil?"_

_Tom groaned. "I bet it'll be a weekend retreat sort of thing. So we don't get any time off from this stuff." _

_Jill pointed to his food. "Stuff you mouth and shut up, your attitude is getting on my nerves."_

_Before he could open his mouth to reply I jumped in; any tantrums Tom pulled would lead to punishment for all of us. Like standing still with a book perched on our heads for an hour. "Maybe a retreat could be fun. Nice beds, good food-"_

"_Maybe even a spa?" Cut in Tom, looking hopeful._

"_Don't be ridiculous, this isn't a holiday camp." Jill bit her lip. "It would be nice to have a bit more information, this place is always so tight lipped on plans – either that or they truly are just making it up as they go along."_

"_I assure you Ms. Poilit we are well aware of what we are doing and plans have been meticulous formed and followed." Silence had fallen across the canteen and if anything the room felt darker. Mr Palmer stood beside the table having crept up unnoticed. I say crept but it's highly unlikely that he did, Mr Palmer isn't really the creeping type. _

_Jill blushed and was about to back track and dig herself out of the lovely hole she had created but was waved off by Palmer. _

"_I'd like to take the chance to speak to all of you regarding your progress this afternoon. As you are aware this day marks the end of your seminars here and next week you will be out on placement. Ms. Poilit you'll meet with me after you've finished your lunch, Mr. Fikkerson an hour later, followed by Ms. Weasley." With that he turned and strode away. _

"_That guy is so creepy." Tom said. _

_Jill and I said nothing, in case he was close enough to hear, but were in complete agreement. _

XxX

_I sat in one of the comfortable chairs outside Palmer's office under the watchful eye of his secretary. Tapping my fingers against the smooth wooden handles of the chair I wondered about placement, hoping for a nice retreat but knowing it was more likely to be more of the same; strange tasks, long hours, and at the end of it no idea of how it was going to help me get a job. Maybe it's supposed to be so unhelpful and tiring that I'll just run and accept the first job I'm offered. _

_A slight cough coming from Ms. Hughnot broke my line of thought and I looked to her to see her disapproving stare. I stopped tapping my fingers. _

_The one good thing about all of this though had been getting out of the house. Being out for most of the day and coming home feeling so tired that I could barely read a chapter before falling to sleep had actually helped make home a bit more bearable. If I was hardly there the broken electrics, mouldy kitchen, and 1970s pink bathroom couldn't drive me crazy. It was hard with the girls and Paul. I hardly saw them and things had grown a bit distant between us. It's not like we were bosom buddies but we used to hang out most nights and now when I walked into the room conversations were stilted and the invitations to join them out had dried up. Jill and Tom understood, said it was the same for them; ALCOR was taking up our entire lives._

_Ms. Hughnot stood up and headed off towards the instructors' offices with a pile of papers leaving me alone, though not for long. As she disappeared around the corner Palmer's door opened and Tom came out looking dazed. _

"_Hey Tom, how'd it go?" I asked quietly as he came by slowly. _

"_Oh, you know, fine. He said I had made good progress and the leadership classes will look good on my CV. Said he'd give me a recommendation praising my teamwork and ICT skills." Tom didn't look at me and the confused look on his face matched mine._

"_What do you mean leadership classes and ICT skills? We didn't do any of that Tom, what are you-"_

"_Ms. Weasley?" Palmer's voice called out from inside his office. "If Ms. Hughnot has stepped out for a moment you're welcome to make your own way into my study."_

_Knowing that he would come out if I tarried any longer I grasped Tom's arm and spoke quickly. "Go back to the common room, we'll catch up after my turn."_

_Without looking back Tom walked away. I tasted blood; I hadn't realised I'd been worrying my lip and now it was cut. Dabbing it with the cuff of sleeve I headed into Palmer's office more worried than before but really, how could it have been that bad?_

"_Take a seat Ms. Weasley." And so I sat, eleven weeks later, in the same chair I had first sat in when I arrived. I knew I ought to keep my mouth shut but Tom's dazed look was at the forefront of my mind and curiosity and, to be completely honest, righteous anger won out. _

"_What on Earth did you say to Tom?" I demanded. "He left your office so confused looking that I think he's still processing it. I'm going to find him later wandering the grounds having forgotten about tea!"_

"_Please sign here Ms. Weasley and then we can talk." He pushed some papers towards and stretched out his arm offering me his pen._

"_What is all this?" The document was full of legalese and I started to feel a bit like how Tom looked._

"_It's a standard non-disclosure agreement, the basic principle is that you will be obligated to not discuss this meeting with anyone outside of the corporation." _

_I paused, why on Earth would I need to sign something like this? What happened if he said something or did something that I needed to tell someone about? If he threw his stapler at me would that mean I couldn't tell anyone what a raging maniac he was?_

"_That is correct."_

_Crap. Did not realise I was speaking aloud. A common problem with me if we're being honest. _

"_I'm sorry Mr Palmer, but what's the incentive for me to sign this thing?" I spoke bluntly, any deference towards him forgotten with the arrival of the contract. _

_He leant back in his chair appraising me. I tried to stare right back at his but even with my newly found confidence and lack of deference the overwhelming desire to avoid his eyes lead me to stare out of the windows behind him at the wonderful view of the lake. Despite the insane regime we were put through the scenery had at least been nice. _

"_Ms. Weasley I truly cannot go into any explanations until you've signed the contract. I can assure you no harm has come to your companions and nor will any fall upon you. I have answers but I need your promise to silence before I can share them."_

"_A contractually promised silence," I muttered but looked at the contract again. This had all of a sudden grown interesting. The last eleven weeks had been rigorous and tiring but also fun and different. We'd been studying and practicing things I had never even considered before and despite the weird vibe Palmer gave off the feeling was always of fear of what he could do but never a fear that he would do; his strength was what made me uncomfortable, I realised. After Voldemort's possession powerful people always made me uncomfortable because of the strength they have and their abilities to do almost anything they wanted. _

_I picked up the pen and looked to Palmer once more. This time I stared into his eyes, fighting the feeling to look away. "No harm will come to us?" I confirmed._

"_No harm will come to you during this meeting."_

_I smiled a small smile. His reply ought to be cause for concern but knowing Palmer it was just his pedantic ways. There was obviously something interesting going on here and with this contract I knew that my time with the corporation was not coming to an end. _

_I signed the contract._

"_Date as well Ms. Weasley."_

_I dated the contract. _


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

"I'm sorry, _what_?" I stared at Palmer with disbelief and most likely a gormless expression on my face.

As standard Palmer looked back at me with a bored look on his face before studying the papers in front of him again. "Your aptitude tests, physicals, and skill gauges all indicate a vast potential for success in our line of work. Slight concerns have been raised over your quick temper and tongue and some of the instructors have acknowledged a problem with your inability to be quiet but other than that you seem to me to be an adequate candidate for further training and employment with our company."

"I'm going to be a spy?!"

Palmer frowned slightly. "Not quite. Perhaps one day you will be required to undertake some work which would lead to you being labelled a spy by those who do not understand that we are in the business of international relationship management."

It was my turn to frown. "What? Relationship management? Are we talking about couples counselling now?" I had the feeling he thought I was being obtuse on purpose but in reality I had no idea what he had just said.

He sighed, and I took that as a victory of my charm having won him over. "People require services to facilitate their relations with others and we help to bridge and manage any of these relations that may require external aid."

So basically a fancy and business-speak way of saying we were spies.

"Why me?"

"As I said in these past months you've demonstrated aptitude for this job. Once you've finished placement you'll begin full training. Our employee benefits are generous, we will treat you fairly, and your job will be interesting, fulfilling and you will never forget the life the corporations enables you to lead." His words were dream building but his voice never changed and he remained as straight faced as usual. Ginny wanted to believe him so badly, believe this job was truly everything he said.

"All we ask of you is discretion, loyalty, and excellence."

"So not a lot then," I joked weakly.

"Ms. Hughnot will give you the details of your placement work, that is your time to put everything we've shown you over the past months to practice and to demonstrate we are not making a mistake with you."

His words dismissed me but he promised me answers and I still had questions.

"What about Tom? Why did he look so confused? And does Doris know about this? She thought you guys would help me find a proper job and I just don't think Doris would send people here if you weren't going to be helpful." I paused at the look he gave me.

"Mr. Fikkerson did not meet our expectations. He believes his time here was extremely helpful and productive. Mrs. Lovitt, _Doris_, is a member of the corporation who assists with the searching of potential candidates. Ms. Weasley I am extremely busy, please put any further questions on paper and send them to me. I'll answer them at my convenience."

So never then. And Doris? A member of a secret corporation pretending to be a mindless boring office worker. Huh, colour me surprised.

"One final thing Ms. Weasley," Palmer said just as I was about to walk out of the door. "I must stress upon you the need for discretion, infractions are most severely dealt with." With that he looked back to his work and I all but stumbled out of the room.

Ms. Hughnot handed me another package similar to the first before returning to her work also and ignoring me.

"Well, well, Ginny Weasley. I did not expect to see you here."

I looked up from the package in shock to see Draco Malfoy casually relaxing in a chair. My mouth fell open giving him another chance to smirk at me. Ten seconds and I was already irritated by him.

"Malfoy," not trying to hide the irritation in my voice.

His eyes sparkled as he grinned at me, irritation growing stronger.

"Well it looks as if we're to be working together."

I felt as if I was hit by hippogriff. Malfoy worked for ALCOR, Malfoy was going to be my partner, Malfoy actually worked.

"You're my partner?" I asked askance and he just smirked once more. Seriously, this guy needed to come up with more facial expressions.

"Well not quite. I'm your placement supervisor. I guess you could say you're going to be working under me," his pleasure in that statement dripping.

I was unable to believe any of this, still trying to process the fact Malfoy had a job let alone was superior to me.

"Whatever, Malfoy, I guess I'll see you next week." I turned and tried to walk away from the situation; I had to go find Tom.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Draco's longer legs allowed him to catch up with me too quickly.

"I'm going to meet Tom in the common room, he looked a bit out of it when he finished in Palmer's study."

Draco was quiet for a moment, surprisingly, before asking, "Did he mention something about leadership classes and ICT skills?"

I paused and looked to him sharply. "Yes, why? Do you know what he's going on about?"

He looked to the floor and didn't seem to want to reply so I pushed him.

"Hey!" he cried as he almost lost his balance and fell over.

"Answer me, Malfoy." I demanded simply.

"Well honestly, if you're going to be so rude and treat me so harshly I don't know why I ought to-"

I pushed him again. "Malfoy," I whispered harshly.

"He's been wiped," he shrugged, "if people don't make the grade they get wiped with new bland memories of a generic unemployment course implanted and then sent back out into the real world."

"No . . . you can't do that, you wouldn't do that to people!" I cried out but the realisation immediately hit me that yes, it was definitely something Palmer would and could do. "He won't remember me?" I whispered. Tom wasn't the greatest guy, he complained a lot, but he _was_ funny and did help when he could; he was a good guy. The idea that he'd forgotten all the time we had spent together, the fact that we three were friends . . . I felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on me.

"Jill!"

Draco jumped.

I grabbed him with both hands mindlessly noting the soft feel of his forest green jumper. "What happened to Jill?" I demanded as Draco looked down at me with amusement.

"The other one? She's still one of us, she passed like you. She's probably with her supervisor now going over the details of placement like we ought to be."

Relief flooded my body, at least I wasn't completely alone.

"It's not like you're going to see her though. He's been sent home already and now you're both going to be in different places for placement and training. Then you'll be out working. I guess you might have the occasional days of at the same time to meet up and going shopping on, and there's always the Christmas party. Mm, I started with Frank, Jane, and Mitchell . . . haven't seen those guys in months. Life gets too busy."

As Draco babbled I stood numb. It had only been three months but those two had replaced my housemates as my go to people. These past three months had just been the three of us trying to survive the time together. We had even met up outside of this place and gotten drinks, gotten drunk.

"We had lunch an hour ago," I mumbled. "They're my friends."

Draco looked uncomfortable for a beat before grabbing my arm and leading me to one of the many small meeting rooms.

"Look Weasley, I understand where you're coming from but trust me, it's okay."

"Is it? Great, thanks, Malfoy. They just upended three months of my life but at least Draco Malfoy says it's going to be okay!"

He ran a hand through his hair, then realising he had messed it up, tried to sweep it back into place. "Look, this is just how it is and if you want to survive here and make the most of it just get on board and adapt. We've all had to."

I scoffed but he was genuine and despite the fact he was Malfoy he _did_ know what I was going through; he had been through it himself.

"My life was just, not great before this," I admitted, "and it finally felt good, I was happy with how it was. I just-"

"It's a shock, I know, but trust me you'll be fine once you start placement, that'll sort you out."

I couldn't believe I had told anyone – especially him – about how I was feeling, even more unbelievable was his reaction, he was actually acting like a normal compassionate human being.

"Anyway, let's move on to what we're going to be doing next week and how you can get through this without being a complete and absolute failure and embarrass me."

Aah, there he was, the Draco Malfoy we all knew.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

"Placement really is all about the application of everything you've been taught at the Reef for the past couple of months. This is training but at the same time if you screw up you create a lot of problems that need to be contained," Draco explained as he led me through the maze-like basement we Portkeyed into.

"The Reef?"

"That's the name of the place you've spent the past three months . . . didn't think to ask?" he shot back as we skirted around a suit of armour.

"Never really thought to," I muttered while pulling down the skirt of my dress.

"Yes, well, today we're not just training you, we're actually working."

This pulled me up short. Becoming a spy sounded amazing but after a weekend to think about it doubts were crowding my mind; mainly I was concerned with the possibility of getting into trouble . . . the pain type of trouble. And prison. Prison was bad.

"You've read the information packet I gave you, right?" Draco asked looking at me as if he would be able to tell if I lied.

"Yes," I lied.

"Good." Phew.

We made it to the stairs and Draco paused again to look me over. "You look the part at least. Remember, your role here is to keep your head down but keep an eye out for trouble. I need to be able to trust you to watch my back. I don't, currently, but that's the situation. Ready?" Draco was a bit of an ass.

A lot of.

He was better than he was at Hogwarts. He still made snide little comments but not seemingly for cruel fun more because it was expected of him. Most of the time he stuck to talking about work and that was that. We had spent most of the weekend meeting to discuss placement week and that was it; I didn't know how he got involved with ALCOR, any details about past assignments, what he does when he wasn't working . . . the only thing I knew was that he likes pizza and that's because we ordered some to have while working.

He'd gone from being a pain in the ass whenever possible to a one tracked mind.

Tracked on work, to clarify.

Seeing my assent Draco half smiled – the full version currently unavailable on the Draco model apparently – and climbed the stairs, with me shortly behind him. When we reached the top we were greeted by a maid who took one look at us before skittering away giggling.

"Great," I sighed, "she thinks we were making out in the basement."

"If you want we can disappear into a coat cupboard and add fuel to the fire?"

I shot him a dirty look, which he seemed to enjoy, and strode off.

"I'm a maid, you're a waiter so let's go and do servant-y things, okay?" Leaving Draco behind, after giving my outfit a final once over, I followed the smells and headed towards the kitchen.

The mission was simple. I just observe while Draco sneaks into the study, steals some papers, and then we disappear. The papers were just some business take over plans so the threat of heavy security was minimal. With the large party that was being thrown tonight we wouldn't have to worry about sticking out, the extra staff here and there would just be explained away by the need for more servants.

Straightforward.

Simple.

XxX

"Jump on!" Draco yelled. He was outside the window, hovering on a broom looking frantically around.

"I haven't got the papers yet!" I cried, desperately searching the desk. It was covered in bloody paper and I didn't know what I was really looking for.

"Hurry up!" he demanded as the alarm continued to blare. "They dogs are starting to circle and I hate bloody dogs!"

"It's not here!"

"Check the bleeding drawers!"

Cursing myself for not thinking of that sooner I tried them only to quickly discover they were locked. A quick spell loosened neither of them and I realised they were resistant. Time for something a bit more manual then. Searching around I grabbed a pen knife and jabbed it into the crack of the drawer.

Conscious of the time I wasn't neat and stabbed and jiggled the drawer until it popped open. Right at the top was a thick envelope. I was about to open it and check the contents when the door swung open. Standing in the doorway was a very big man.

The room was dark and all the light was behind him so that's all I could see, but it was enough. With a squeal – which I cannot forgive myself for – I jumped back as he growled and lunged for me.

"Ginny! Jump!" Draco bellowed still hovered outside the window, unable to use his wand from his position and not willing to trap us both in the room.

As voices grew louder I realised the man would be joined by others any minute and that escaping meant doing so now.

"_Locomotor Wibbly!_" I cast, luckily striking the man and slowing him down enough to give me time to reach the window where Draco was waiting.

"Jump," he repeated and moved closer.

"This is ridiculous!" I shouted and threw myself out of a third story window.

XxX

"Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Weasley, please do come in." Palmer invited us into his study where we were supposed to debrief him on the assignment.

"I understand things did not go according to plan," he suggested and I realised straight away that he already knew exactly what had happened, how I had screwed up, and that I wasn't good enough.

A chill past through me and I remembered what Draco had said about Tom, he wasn't good enough so he got wiped. All those experiences and memories just gone. I would forget my first fencing lesson when Jill accidentally lunged too far and instead of hitting me skewered an orange from the fruit bowl behind us; the night we all got so drunk we accidentally took the wrong bus home and ended up in Cardiff; my newly started map collection will just look weird to the old Ginny, she won't have the appreciation and see the beauty in the art of their creation.

I don't want to admit to even myself how unhappy I was with how my life used to be. I was used to hiding it from my family but I honestly was just floating through life, pretending everything was okay was the most work I did. I wanted more for myself and when everything didn't go to plan I didn't have a new plan to follow; my stupid pride wouldn't let me go back home and start all over again.

I liked ALCOR. Well, I mostly liked what I knew. I'm sure there were things going on that I would be outraged about, especially things like the memory wiping, but breaking into that guy's office and then escaping on the back of a broom while being chased . . . it was exhilarating. Things really must have been bad for that sort of trouble to appeal to me.

Looking at Draco I saw that he felt the same way. His pose and his facial expression were all as you'd expect when in Palmer's presence, he looked respectful and stiff, but underneath that I could tell that he was also pumped with energy. His eyes, when I caught them, weren't dead but bright. Draco Malfoy could hid his emotions brilliantly but the rush we had experienced was something even he struggled to contain.

With my lack of control I'm sure Palmer could see quite clearly how excited I was, so unremorseful of how the evening had ended. Of course I didn't wish everything had gone as terribly as it had as I'm sure it's going to cause some problems but, I don't know, it was kind of worth it if it lead to this feeling.

XxX

_I felt absolutely ridiculous. Watching out for Draco really just meant blending in and not causing trouble for him. As Draco said, security wasn't expected to be tight as the information we were after was pretty basic and run of the mill. So instead of working out guard patrol patterns and carefully guiding Draco around their paths I just had to wander around handing out bloody canapés._

"_You, girl." _

_Seriously?_

_I turned and smiled the fakest smile that ever was smiled. Short of curtsying I think I had the whole servant thing down. "Yes, _sir_?" _

"_Bring us another couple of whiskeys, neat, and bring around those mini quiches again, we enjoyed them." This last part was directed to the man he was stood with and eyeing them up I would agree that they looked like the sort of people to enjoy their food. So bulbous though mostly filled with hot air. Unfortunately they'd float if pushed into the pool, I mused, while heading over to the bar to have their drinks made. _

"_Two whiskeys, neat please," I asked the man behind the bar. He grinned and I truly could not help but discover how cute he was when he smiled. _

_I could feel myself blushing slightly and instead of making that charming impression I excused myself to the kitchen to pick up some more stupid mini quiches. There I found Draco, sat on top a counter chatting to a couple of the other girls. Chatting them _up_. Really? We're here for work and he's just taking the time to set up a couple of bloody dates? _

_I caught his eye and glared at his furiously realising too late that one of the girls was the one who had caught up coming out of the basement. Her knowing look meant she obviously thought I was now jealous that my 'guy' was chatting up other girls. I inwardly groaned. Draco would definitely not let this die. _

"_We are supposed to be _working,_ people," I all but growled to my dismay. _

_The girls tittered and Draco smirked. "Relax, we're just taking a little break." He reached for a mini quiche and popped it in his mouth. _

_This guy had spent the weekend drilling into me the importance of being on your guard at work and not letting it drop even for a moment as "That's when Fate throws something your way." The nerve of this arse._

"_Hey girls, do you mind me a minute with her?" he asked the real message clear 'give me a minute to get rid of her.' They smiled and nodded and headed back into the party with food platters sending me one more pitying look as they did. _

"_Malfoy what the hell are you playing at?" I kept my voice down but couldn't hide the annoyance. "We're here to work, not for you to flirt. Do you seriously need to pick up every simpering idiot you can find to stroke your ego, can you not do it for yourself? Stand in front of a mirror in the morning and chant that you are a beautiful person, charming and witty, the belle of the bloody ball!"_

_It didn't matter for him if this week didn't go brilliantly, he was already in. I'm sure one mistake was all I needed to make for me to be out and I did not want to be out. _

_Malfoy look back at me, expressionless. I had noticed he did that when he didn't like what was happening. Over the weekend if I had made a joking comment about his family, most of the time it was automatic and I didn't truly mean it, but it didn't matter; he'd go blank and for most of the day would be cold, even cruel. _

"_Well, Weasley, it seems you haven't changed since Hogwarts at all," he hissed. "I'm your superior here, do you realise that? This isn't a game, lives are a stake in our business and as the ignorant fool who's only just been through the introductory training I would have thought you'd realise your place and act like the inferior person you are!" Despite his harsh words his face remained blank, only the tips of his ears growing pink indicated his anger. _

"_I know what I am doing, I've been doing this for three years now, I was recruited at graduation they actually wanted me straight away I wasn't someone they stumbled across I was wanted from the start. This isn't my escape from my life, this is my life."_

"_This isn't my escape!" But as the words past through my lips I knew they were a lie . . . and so did he._

_His cruel smirk was his mark of triumph. "Oh Weasley," he sighed, slipping off the counter. "A lot of people don't like their lives, I happen to be totally in love with mine."_

_He went to head back into the party. "And myself." _

_He left me standing there in the kitchen. At least no one saw my tearful eyes. _

XxX

_After that stupid confrontation with Draco I slipped out into the back garden where the party had yet to spill over to. I collapsed into a chair and watched the ripples the wind made on the pool. I should have known this wouldn't go well, big fancy houses with pools aren't my sort of place at all. Even as a servant. _

_I sniffed and dabbed my eyes again with my apron, fighting to urge to breakdown into a proper crying fit. I'm better than this, I know I am, and yet the dark feeling bubble up inside me and rationality isn't beating them down. _

"_Lover's quarrel?" A soft voice cut through the night. _

_My head snapped up and I took in the gorgeous woman heading my way. Totally Draco's type I thought, long blonde hair, dress huggable curves, icy blue eyes . . . Draco's type is basically his mother. A thought to expand at another time. _

"_Um, no," I coughed and went to stand up. _

"_No, no, sit, sit." She took a seat next to me and pulled out a cigarette from her purse. She didn't offer me one before lighting up and leaning back in her chair. _

"_You don't want to fall in love," she offered. "Love is a terrible thing. I fell in love once, I didn't realise it at the time. There's an awful moment when everything seems to pause and you realise what's happening. For me it was too late not to keep falling." She took another drag and continued to look out at the grounds. She wasn't here to comfort me, I don't think she really cared who I was or why I was upset. She was talking for herself and I was unable to do anything but sit and wait for her to finish. _

"_My family wouldn't let me marry him; he wasn't good enough, it's not that old tale, it's simply that I was already in an arrangement apparently to an equally good match. My husband didn't make me laugh as much as him, he preferred these sorts of soirees with pretty girls and dignified men, not really my type of person and I wasn't his. I used to laugh a lot you know," she smirked. "Mm, it's a terrible thing to lose someone we love, but it's even worse to lose ourselves while loving them. He let me be myself, without him as an anchor, well, what need do I have for laughter? I have pearls and diamonds." Her laugh was a mockery of joy, bitter and cruel. _

"_Ginny, we need to talk." Draco's voice cut through the night and as if stung the woman bolted upright. _

"_Michael?" she called. "Michael you rake, have you finally re-joined society?" _

_Draco came around the corner. Pale and uneasy. "Sabrine, it's lovely to see you again."_

_She simpered and was about to reply when Draco pulled out his wand and set her to sleep. I watched all this in a state of confusion before realising Michael must have been an alias and that this could cause problems for us if others knew and recognised 'Michael.'_

"_I'm sure you've realised what's happened," he said, "I can't show my face in there, it's too dangerous. You need to get the documents. I'm going to secure us a quick escape." He ignored my red eyes and pulled me up out of the chair. _

"_You can do this, Weasley, it's just a bit of light entering and breaking. Heck, they've even left the doors open for us."_

_I nodded. "Study's upstairs, shouldn't take me more than five minutes to locate what we need." All the emotions swirling inside me froze, now was not the time for that. Finally with something to occupy my attention I could focus on that instead of the turmoil Draco had managed to throw me in. _

"_Well okay then, if you're ready?" _

_I looked back at the pool, the wind had died down and so there were no more ripples, just stillness. _

"_I'm ready."_

XxX

_I tripped an alarm as soon as my feet hit the first stair. I didn't realise it at the time as it was simply a silent one. Within a moment, when I was half way up the staircase a man came around the corner. _

"_Where are you going?" he demanded and I froze. _

"_Um, I'm supposed to go and get the towels for any guests who wish to use the pool." Years of having to make up quick excuses for my mother was the only thing that saved me and I watched with relief as the man nodded. _

"_Don't dawdle," he warned before disappearing._

_Nerves shaken I ran up the last stairs and hastily made my way to the study. Wary of more alarms I tried a few of the revealing spells taught to me only a few weeks ago. There! A yellow tendril flowed from the door knob towards a room downstairs. Turning the knob would send another alarm and I don't think the towel excuse would work again. _

_Instead I tried another Reef taught spell and burnt away the hinges. Most people alarmed the handle of the door, not the door itself. As long as I didn't turn the handle I ought to be fine. Indeed, the hinges were cut and I was able to, with a lot of effort, manoeuvre the door open and rest it against the wall without creating too much noise. Lifting those weights had come in handy after all. _

_I crept into the study and started rifling through the papers on the desk. A knock at the window caught my attention though, and I looked out to see Draco waiting on a broom. I opened the window too slow to see or hear his warning. As soon as the latch was lifted an alarm rang throughout the house. _

XxX

Palmer listened intently to the story, only stopping us to clarify. Draco left out the part about our argument. When we were finally finished he leant back and rested his knotted hands in his lap.

"You made the best of a bad situation. Ms Weasley if you were not on placement we would be discussing your foolish behaviour in not checking for alarms before opening that window but I allowances may be made for you as you do not yet have the mind-set those who have been through training possess." He paused and we sat there in silence.

Finally he spoke again, satisfaction lacing his words. "Despite the lack of subtly deployed I am extremely satisfied with your work tonight. You did not actually pick up the package we were looking for, instead you've returned to us with information far, far more valuable. Bearing that in mind any mistakes or deviations from the plan can be forgiven this time but I would be quick to warn you both that this does not mean my complete acceptance of tonight's events and any further behaviour from you will be handled in a far less forgiving manner. Malfoy, more was expected of you." Palmer nodded and Draco turned his head to the floor.

"You're both dismissed."

Without waiting for a moment to pass, we both jumped up and left the study as quickly as we could while being respectful.

As we walked away from the building to the boundary where we'd be able to Apparate home, I couldn't say anything to Draco. The words just weren't there. After the ups and downs of the night I didn't know what I could say.

"You were good tonight, Weasley, you're going to be fine."

High praise indeed from Draco, that coupled with the high I'd been feeling made me burst out laughing; uncontrollable, it forced me to fall to the floor and laugh at the sheer insanity that my life now was. Draco looked down at me and when I was able to calm myself he joined me on the grass.

"Well Palmer said this would interesting, fulfilling, and an experience I'd never forget." Palmer must have been through all this himself, I thought, otherwise how would he know this feeling? The feeling of happiness that had coloured the past three months intensified and I sent another thanks to Doris.

Draco chuckled and I turned to him.

"What, Malfoy?" Assuming he was laughing at me.

"Weasley," he smiled, "Weasley placement is the final test, what we did tonight? That was the equivalent of being an intern fetching coffee. Once your training is complete it's something else all together. You'll go from being an intern to the CEO. You just wait, there are midnight masquerades in Paris, airplane jumps over Rio, and hiking in Alaska. What we were supposed to do tonight, that was you unlocking the door, Ginny, wait until you step through it."

"This is too much," I said, but as before I knew the lie even as it past my lips.

"Not for people like us, Weasley."

"Not for people like us," I muttered to myself.

"The world's going to get bigger for you now. Best head home and get some rest, we're off to Moscow tomorrow – how is your Russian?" Without waiting from a response Draco nodded, smiled once more and walked away.

I stayed sat on the grass for a bit longer, looking up at the stars.

"И вдруг жизнь интересна."

XxX

A/N

The Russian at the bottom reads "And suddenly life is interesting." …Or does it?


End file.
